A rāhui has been put in place at Western Bay of Plenty waterfall Omanawa Falls. Photo / File
A rāhui has been put in place at Western Bay of Plenty waterfall Omanawa Falls after a man died at the "extremely dangerous" site.
Emergency services were called about 2.30pm yesterday after a report someone had climbed a cliff and failed to return to their group.
There were fears he may have fallen, a police spokeswoman said at the time.
The rescue operation included rescue helicopters, police and firefighters.
About 4pm, the body of the man was found.
Tauranga City Council's acting mayor Tina Sailsbury said in a statement that it was an "immensely sad time" for the man's family and friends, as well as the local community.
She said they would like to thank those first responders and emergency services for their efforts.
"For locals and visitors alike there are other beautiful waterfalls in our region that are well worth visiting, no matter what you may have seen online or heard, Omanawa Falls is closed to the public because it is extremely dangerous," she said.
Omanawa Falls had been closed to the public for some time for safety reasons and track closure was clearly signposted, the council's manager of parks and recreation Mark Smith said.
Omanawa Falls lies within the rohe of Ngāti Hangarau and representatives were on site yesterday to help support those grieving.
They would return today to conduct further karakia and a rāhui had been put in place until further notice.
Kaitiaki from Ngati Hangarau would continue to be present at the falls most days this summer to educate visitors around the cultural significance of the site and the dangers that exist.
"Despite the Kaitiaki programme deterring hundreds of people so far, there are still people accessing the falls. However, we will continue with this educational approach and the presence and dedication of the Kaitiaki is an important part of this," Smith said.
Tourism Bay of Plenty had been working to update, remove or edit online listings about the Falls and were working to educate accommodation providers of the cultural and environmental reasons not to visit the site.
Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter pilot Liam Brettkelly said the rescue helicopter was called to Omanawa Falls about 3.30pm on Sunday.
"We were initially tasked to look for someone who had fallen and to winch them out," he said.
Brettkelly said the rescue helicopter landed at the scene but were no longer needed after ground crews located the person and determined they were dead.
He said it was sad news someone had died.
A police spokeswoman said since the death had been referred to the coroner it would be inappropriate for police to comment on the circumstances.
